, 1887-06-25

20 the Council In EnglSh alone 5WnHrHasT7ta
should have been prepared also m Danish
He would propose that q COMMITTEES of Do
members be appointed to take 1.-THE rmatfero
into consideration and report auponTsamey
3rd Member for Frederiksted's e. Country
District (Hewitt would beg to make some
further remarks before the discussion was
closed. He would say that as far as regards
the remarks OF His Excellency about the ex-
preston used in the petition ''ruinous indus
try" he was able to substantiate that same
was ruinous. True enough that planters did
not plant fresh every year, but as prospects
were now, the planters were Obliged to let
their canes rattoon oftener thanthey otherwise
would do, and why? because the estates are
not able to stand the expenses incident
to hiring a large gang of laborers for the pur-'
pose of planting. One would furthermore
suppose that two such commodities as rum
and molasses were easily salable, but that was
far from the truth. Planters were now oblig-
ed to turn merchants in order to try and dis
pose of their produce and make both ends
meet. He would disadvise any delay; when
we took the present state of affairs into con-
sideration we see that out of a revenue Of
100000, an amount of S24O,000g go TO defray
the expenses of the administration,-He begs1
ged to ~reiterate the remarks made Blythe 3rd7
Member for Christiansted's Country District
Neevy) that it had been agreed among most of
the planters to stop employing laborers, had
the drought continued much longer, as things
could not last much longer as they are now.
The Governor had said that everything should
relymainly on efforts of the planters themselves.
Our cultivation was not behind the cultivation of
any other of the West India Islands. The
planters deserved he thought q vast deal of
credit, as matters even stand now take into
00nosI L lSGC o-l4s1o H. 80 10
cope with, the disastrous effects Of the Riots
after which nevertheless they had feestablishs
ed the island, and yet we were not behind
hand In our cultivation ! The Governor
should therefore do everything IN his power
to effect a favorable issue of the Petition. 4e1e
9rd Member for 'Christianstedis Country
District (LeevO would beg to make an alter.
alton to the oblectional clause last referred to
by His Excellency the Governor and after
the word '~'clear" in the AZ, instead of the
words "and which it could not admit to have
made, with the intention to deceive and
break to insert the following 'and which
could be none the less binding"
4th Member for Christiansted's Country
District (RGphGeLl would make q few remarks.
Experience had shewn that the sugar c~ultiva-
ton in this island was a ruinous industry.
There were of course many estates that
pd10 OnOAL 6APouSCSS y SL0dU MduH O0 6u0
other hand that did not. He happened to
be the owner of many estates, some Of which
although all were administered on the
most economical scale,-paid their expenses,
whereas others actually absorbed the little
gain these had made, by the heavy expenses
necessary to administrate them Suppose
that these poor and improbable estates were
owned by single individuals, where would
they be now? He was, among others, the
owner of Q estates on the North Side of the
island and could confidently say that these
2 estates merely gave a living to the labour-
ers. It was only estates on the fat land
that could pay now.
The G0vernOr would not deny that som
estates did not pay, but OF the, whole he
thought that the cultivation had hitherto
at least covered the expenses. AS long as
the weather was favorable he could not see
that there was any real danger, although
he would admit that under present prices
the situation was very precarious, but
any how a cultivation that needed perlna-
nent protection must fall, it would be quite
all illusion to prop up the sugar cuLtlva-
ton by artificial means. !
3rd Member for Frederiksteds Country
District (Hessit0 thought that b impend.
ing crisis could not conveniently be- pro-
louged. IF things continued much longer
rs they are at present, the whole North
Side of the island would; he felt convinced,